Updated, Updated, April, 18, 2016, 2:21pm In a message posted on Twitter, Israeli police said the bus explosion in Jerusalem injured 21 people, two of whom were in serious condition, six who were moderately injured and eight lightly injured. Updated, April, 18, 2016, 1.15 PM EST: Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat told local media that the bus…
The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations issued this comment:
The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations sharply condemned the terrorist attack that took place in Jerusalem today injuring at least 21 people. Although no group has claimed responsibility for the attack yet, the terrorist group Hamas reportedly praised the attack, stating, “Hamas blesses the Jerusalem operation.”
In a statement Stephen M. Greenberg, Chairman of the Conference of Presidents, and Malcolm Hoenlein, Executive Vice Chairman and CEO said:
“We extend our wishes for the complete recovery of all those injured in the horrific terrorist bombing of a bus in Jerusalem today, in which more than 20 Israelis were injured.
Today’s bombing attack recalls the reign of bus-related terror during the Second Intifada and ended a brief period of relative calm after months of barbaric stabbings, shootings and car ramming terrorist incidents throughout Israel. The timing of this attack appears intended to disrupt the Passover holiday many tourists come to Israel and visit Jerusalem and comes amid a recent increase of incitement over false charges against Israel regarding the Temple Mount.
Reports of immediate support for the attack from Hamas and the other notorious Palestinian terror groups, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, show they are seeking to fan the flames and encourage more depraved terrorist violence against Israelis. The international community must forcefully condemn this escalation in the clearest possible terms.
We express our support for the government of Israel in its efforts to apprehend the perpetrators of this heinous act and bring them to justice and in carrying out its duty to protect the people of Israel against brutal terror.”
The Religious Action Center for Reform Judaism, based in Washington D.C., issued the following statement:
In response to today’s bus bombing in Jerusalem that injured 21 people, Rabbi Jonah Dov Pesner, Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, issued the following statement:
Our thoughts and hearts are with the people of Jerusalem and all Israelis as they once again know the horrors of terror. Instead of bringing us closer to a day when children and parents, husbands and wives need not worry about losing loved ones to acts of hate, today’s bus bombing has violently torn apart lives and families.
As we in the Jewish community prepare for Pesach, we look to this season of renewal for a source of hope that progress toward peace can be cultivated like the first buds of Spring. We join with those who condemn this act of terror and call on all people committed to peace to do the same. May those injured heal swiftly and fully and may peace come speedily and in our time.